Half A Million Still Without Power

Tuesday, December 11th 2007, 7:08 am

By: News On 6

Three-thousand crews are in Tulsa helping PSO restore power. News On 6 anchor Terry Hood reports the power company says its goal is to restore the largest amount of customers in the shortest period of time. First on the list are hospitals, police and fire departments. After that, their focus goes to the neighborhoods.

The power trucks rolled into Tulsa from far away states including North Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi and Louisiana. PSO brought in 3,000. The power company normally has 500 workers.

The focus on Tuesday was to begin restoring power to the more than 220,000 customers whose homes are in the dark.

Some may be wondering where they start.

PSO says it begins with the main lines or circuits. The power gets to your house from a sub-station which then goes to a feeder line and on to a circuit. Priority for PSO is to fix the lines that power the most customers. For example, if your home is on a line that also powers two other homes, you'll be one of the first. If a line powers only one customer, it falls down the list.

PSO's goal for Tuesday was to repair 120 circuits. Each circuit powers at least 1,800 customers, which means around 216,000 PSO customers are at the top of the priority list.

â€œAgain, it doesn't mean we're going to complete those circuits today. It does mean we're going to get a lot of customers back online today, we're going to make a big impact today,â€ said PSOâ€™s Preston Kissman.

PSO wants to remind customers there is some work they cannot do. If the meter box or panel was disconnected from your home or business you need to call an electrician. PSO can only work to get power restored to the lines as it runs to your house.

Watch the video: Help Arrives From Surrounding States

WEB EXTRA: PSO Explains How It Will Restore Power

PSO encourages everyone who is without power to give them a call, that number is 888-218-3919.

Oklahoma Gas & Electric, the state's largest utility, reported 291,702, outages Tuesday morning while Public Service Company of Oklahoma reported more than 252,537 outages in northeastern Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, Northeast Electric reported 8,000 customers without power. Verdigris Valley Electric reported 9,000 outages. Indian Electric has about 4,500 customers without power. And the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives reports about 65,800 rural electric customers without power across Oklahoma.

In addition, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority says because of power outages, there is no fuel service at the main service plaza in Stroud. On the Will Rogers Turnpike, electricity is spotty at best and OTA officials say motorists are being encouraged to fuel up before getting on the Turner and Will Rogers Turnpike.